The "Antigua 2019: Faces Of Strangers #55" Story

The umbrella stand of "Hazel The Jewelleryman."
Click on images to enlarge them.

It was an ordinary day.  I had just returned to the small hand-made jewelry stand that stood in front of the Sandals Resort on the island of Antigua.  It was two days ago that I walked up the beach to explore Dickenson Bay and saw this small stand with the umbrella with hand stenciled letters that read, "HAZEL THE JEWELLERYMAN".  Naturally drew my attention and before long I was talking to Hazel who began his beachfront stand over 30 years ago.  His big smile revealed a large letter "H" in gold on his top-left front tooth.  

Hazel

I told him of a gentleman whom I met about 15 years ago while on a visit to the island of Barbados that also ran a jewelry stand and had a large letter "R" on his front tooth.  Guy by the name of Richard who also carried a constant smile on his face as did Hazel.  I examined the handcrafted jewelry that Hazel had for sale and asked the price of a few of the small bracelets.  Most were in the $5 range and I thought they would be a nice Christmas gift for a few young girls that Carol and I know in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where we live.  I told him I would be back the following day to buy them and also asked if I could take a photo of him and his big smile.  "Only if you buy one of my bracelets," he responded.  "I'll be back tomorrow with the money for the bracelets and a photograph," I told him.  

The selection of items he uses in his work.

Then he said, "If you promise to return, you can take the photograph now."  I did so and told him I would be back, although I'm sure he had heard that more times than he could remember.  Well, the following day was extremely hot and I didn't feel I could make the journey down the beach to his stand, so I postponed it.  As I neared his stand today I noticed he was busy working on another bracelet.  Shortly after I walked under his umbrella he looked at me and smiled.  "I thought I would never see you again!  You know how many people tell me they will be back tomorrow?"  "I said, "Yeah, but I'm not one of those other people.  

Many of his bracelets.

I'm sorry I didn't return yesterday, but it was too hot to walk the beach."  His large letter "H" lit up the tent when he smiled!  He showed me the massive collection of beads and trinkets that he uses to make his bracelets and I picked two that would be suitable for a young girl.  Paid him the money and thanked him for allowing me to take the photo two days before.  He smiled and said, "You really surprised me today when you came back.  Not many people have the courtesy to do that.  Glad to know you," he said as he held out his hand to shake my hand.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Antigua 2019: The Museum Of Antigua & Barbuda" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading toward the capital city of Antigua, St. Johns.  Carol and myself, along with traveling friends Jere and Just Sue, are being chauffeured by taxi driver LesRay so we can spend a few hours shopping on the streets of St. John and have a cold drink before heading back to our resort.  

The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda.
Click on photos to enlarge them.

Since Jere and I don't care to visit all the jewelry stores in the city, we opted to spend our time at The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda which was founded in 1985 in the former St. John's Courthouse which is located at the corner of Market and Long Streets.  We left the taxi stand and in no time had wound our way to the building that was originally built in 1750 and is believed to be the oldest building in St. John.  The architect of the building was Peter Harrison, well known for many fine buildings in the United States as well as the West Indies.  The Court of Justice was at one time held on the ground floor of the Courthouse while the second floor was home to meeting rooms for the Legislative council and Assembly.  The museum's main floor houses a variety of exhibits relating to the history and culture of Antigua and Barbuda while offices and a library that has text, maps and photographs is found on the second floor.  

A small locomotive displayed outside the front door.

Well, Jere and I walked through the front door and paid for our visit and began to explore the first floor.  Close to the entrance was a large sculpture of  Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards who is perhaps the greatest Antiguan cricketer.  He is regarded as one of the greatest batsman of all time and was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century by a 100-member panel of experts in 2000.  

The Court House was built where a slave market once stood.
To pay for the Court House, plantation owners were accessed
a fee for each slave they owned for a period of six years.

A stadium bears his name in Antigua.  Checked out the rocks and minerals section and headed toward the metals section.  We eventually found a few metal containers that were used for measuring goods that appeared to me to be made of brass or bronze, but Jere, who was a metal shop teacher at the same high school where I taught, thought they were cast iron.  

The original Courthouse in Antigua & Barbuda.  It is
fundamentally Neo-classical in style, as can be seen
in the overall proportions and balance and in the use
of formal Classical temple architecture at the front entrance.

I went to the desk to ask if they would be able to identify something for us and when they came back with me it was obvious they knew nothing about most of the objects in the museum.  They told us the curator would be in very soon to answer any questions we may have.  The museum is very nice, but rather small and lacking in the quantity of items on display.  I realize it has only been open a little over 30 years and will grow in size as time goes on.  Just as we had finished our self-guided tour, the curator of the museum appeared and we asked a few questions of her.  Jere was right with the metal used in the measuring devices and we were both impressed with the knowledge that she knew about just about anything in the museum.  We thanked her for her time and found our way out the front door.  We both enjoyed the visit and the fact we didn't have to watch our wives try on bracelets and necklaces made the trip well worth it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

This is the Courthouse as seen in 1905.  Note that the hip roof is no longer there.

This photograph is from the 1940s and shows the Governor leaving the
courthouse in full regalia.

Inside the main entrance.  Notice the high ceilings and columns
supporting the wooden ceiling.

In this photograph you can see the open second floor in the distance.
It houses offices and a library.  The door to reach the upstairs is to the left.

Even the door is a piece of history with worn door panels
and a metal overhang.

This is the statue which sits inside the front door.  It
features Sir Vivian Richards crafted by Osmond Hector
in fiberglass and oil paint.

One of the many display cases.  This one shows the minerals that can be found in the islands.

Another rock display.

The native peoples of the Caribbean Islands were a seafaring people. They
made canoes in a variety of sizes, each carved from the trunk of a single tree.
 The largest were capable of holding more than 80 persons.  With this ability,
they traveled the islands extensively and had regular contact with the
South American mainland.  The tree trunk was hallowed out using shells,
stone axes and fire.  The paddles were also carved from single pieces
of wood.  Sails were unknown until the arrival of the European explorers.

Wattle and Daub House Model.  Click to enlarge to read.

Loin cloths were made of tiny tururri seeds painstakingly strung and woven together
to produce a beautifully textured garment.  It is worn around the waist, ties in the back
and is trimmed with feather danglers.  The back is open.

The "Antigua 2019: Meeting Michael - Part III" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading to the beach for the day when someone yelled, "Hey, Lar...Have a good day on the beach!"  Yep, it was Michael.  We have become good friends since I first met Michael over a week ago.  He seemed to be at the resort most every day trying to drum up some business for his land and water tours.  We took the land tour with him as I have described in the past two stories, but didn't care to take the water tour.  He actually had two water tours; one included a boat ride to an offshore island where he would cook lobsters for us before returning to Antigua while another was a fishing trip.  Jere and Just Sue, our traveling mates, chose to do the fishing tour and had a good time except for the fact that Jere caught only one small fish.  

Sue has just made her way into the water while Jere will
try next.  Getting in and out was the tough part of the trip.

Seems that they were one of his first fishing trip customers and he had a friend who had a new boat that they used for the trip.  They boarded in shallow water and when they returned they dis- embarked in shallow water.  They decided they needed to have a better way to board and depart for future trips.  During our time with Michael we talked about our families and what we enjoyed doing while on vacation.  Michael told us he was 60 years old and had 10 children to 9 different women.  Boy, did that lead to an interesting round of conversation.  He seemed to know everyone and was friends with most.  One afternoon I was walking around the resort taking photographs to share when I heard..."Hey, Lar...come play dominoes with us!"  I walked over to the table where Michael and his two friends, David and Buffalo, were engaged in a wild game of dominoes.  I had played a few times during vacation trips to other Caribbean islands, but hadn't played for a few years.  Seems the one general rule, no mater what island you may be visiting, is to see who can smack the domino down onto the table with the most force.  Hey, I can do that I thought.  Wasn't long before the tall, thin white guy was smashing dominoes with the best of them.  And...they didn't let me win a single game!  Matter of fact, I was the first one out in each game I played.  I asked David why they didn't let me win a game and he said that he heard I was going to write a story about my experiences and didn't want to be the loser in my story.  After about a dozen games my hand was gettin sore from smashing the domino on the table, so I thanked them for allowing me to play and wished them well.  Michael stopped on our final beach day to say "Good-Bye" to us and thanked us for visiting with him every day.  He is a true ambassador to his home country and a fun one to top that off.  He is someone we will always remember when we get together to talk about our trip to Antigua.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Buffalo

Michael

David

LDub getting ready to slam one of his dominoes on the table.

The "Antigua 2019: Meeting Michael - Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Had just left the Road House Restaurant with Michael, our tour guide, at the wheel, heading to our next stop; Nelson's Dock Yard.  After reaching our destination, Michael dropped us off at the entrance to the dockyard and told us he would meet us at the same location when we were done exploring the grounds of the dockyard.  Beginning in 1713, the Caribbean was the scene of struggle for naval supremacy with the competitors being Britain, Spain, Portugal and France.  Britain's strength was her Navy which she used to protect the valued sugar and spice islands of the Caribbean.  But, the many pirateers in the Caribbean were anxious to seize the valuable cargos that the ships transported back to Europe.  

Nelson's Dockyard

Being that the island of Antigua was a British stronghold, English Harbour was developed into Britain's main naval base in the Eastern Caribbean.  In the eighteenth century the harbour became both a port for trade ships as well as a hurricane refuge for Her Majesty's Ships.  Well-known British admirals who used the harbour were Rodney, Hood, Nelson and Lewis.  Captain Nelson was made temporary Commander of the Leeward Islands Station, thus his name is carried on the dockyard.  The dockyard has been beautifully restored to it former glory and the four of us (Jere and Just Sue as well as Carol and myself) spent over an hour exploring the many buildings on the site as well as the waterfront.  My photographs will show you what we saw during our journey around Nelson's Dockyard. After our visit we headed back to Michael's van.  When we found him he was talking to another driver who told us that the art gallery we wanted to visit which was located in the rainforest was also closed due to low interest in the offseason.  By now we were exhausted so we told Michael to return us to our resort so we could head to the beach for a swim before the sun set.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Welcome sign at the entrance to Nelson's Dockyard. Click on images to enlarge.

Along the waterfront is this large anchor with the flag
of Antigua flying next to it.

This is the Sawpit Shed and Cabin. The saw pit dates back to 1769 and is
the oldest structure in the dockyard today.  Logs were rolled up the incline
into the shed where they were cut into planks and timber for use on ships
and around the yard.  The cabin had an enclosure for storing lead and coal
and was used as a smith's shop in the late 18th century.

This is the dockyard museum where I spent most of my time.

From the second floor of the museum you can see the water and to
the right you can see part of one of the fortifications.

This is the Admiral's Inn and Gunpowder Suite with gardens.

An overall view of the Museum and surrounding buildings

The traditional view for centuries was that women had no place
at sea.  The only woman happily accepted on board by many
sailors was the ship's figurehead.  Women were viewed as unlucky
aboard ship, but many figureheads were bare-breasted in order to
shame stormy seas into calm waters.

Women were viewed as unlucky aboard ship, but were
viewed as the best navigators and the eyes of a female
figurehead were thought to be able to find a way through
the seas when lost.  It was also popular for a ship-owner
to commission a figurehead in the likeness of his wife or
daughter and to name the vessel in her honor.

From the Museum I could see the Dockyard Bakery which bore the sign,
above the door, with the words "for the finest bread, cakes and pastry.

I just loved the beautiful palm trees all over the dockyard.

Custom's and Immigration area at the dockyards.

This is the Seaman's Galley which was built in 1778.  Sailors used the
kitchen when they were in harbour careening their ships.  It was dismantled
in the 1820s, but rebuilt in 1858.

This is a memorial to King George V whose reign was 1911 to 1936.  He
served in the West Indies on this station.

My friend Jere enjoyed sitting and thinking of his time in the U.S. Navy in the
mid-1960s. I'm sure this trip to the dockyards brought back many memories.

A view from Shirley Heights which is on a bluff about a half-mile away.

Another final view of the dockyards.

The "Antigua 2019: Meeting Michael - Part I" Story

Tour guide Michael. Click to enlarge images.

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting on the Starfish Halcyon Cove beach reading my Kindle when this fellow struck up a conversation.  "Interested in an island tour or maybe a sunset cruise with a lobster dinner?  Or maybe an afternoon fishing trip?"  Yesterday Carol and myself, along with our traveling friends Jere and Just Sue, visited Shirley Heights to listen to the steel drum bands and take in the view of Nelson's Dockyard from the point above it at the end of the harbor, but we were still interested in an island tour and perhaps this fellow may have what we need in a tour guide.  The gentleman we had last evening was a very nice guy, but he seemed to be a bit too shy and we had to ask him just about everything in order to learn about the island of Antigua.  

Entrance to Devil's Bridge National Park

That certainly wasn't the case with this guy standing in front of me.  His shirt told me he was Michael and he gave island tours.    I asked him where he would take us and he said, "Anywhere you want to go!"  As I looked at him I had this sneaky suspicion that he could tell us more about island life than anyone else would.  I told him I would talk to my wife and see him tomorrow.  Tomorrow came and there stood Michael with his bright orange shirt, blue hat that he wore sideways that read "BOSS" and a smile that was contagious.  

Devil's Bridge with water washing under the rock formations.

Carol and I asked about a half day trip and he said he would take us to a few locations and then stop for lunch at a local restaurant before returning us.  We asked about Nelson's Dockyards, the Fig Tree Art shop in the Rainforest, Betty's Hope and Devil's Bridge.  He said he would be glad to take us to those four locations before we had lunch.  His charge for the trip would be $120 a couple.  We gave him a deposit for the trip to be taken the following day.  

A cairn build with stones at Devil's Bridge.

We made arrangements to meet him at the resort bar at 9:00 am and sat down to decide which places we wanted to visit first.  The next morning we met Michael at 9:00 am with hopes  of having a memorable day in Antigua.  And...we certainly did!  First stop was Devil's Bridge, but Michael wasn't real happy about going there.  The place has large rock formations that the sea rushes through, creating large rushes of water and subsequent water splashes.  The place was known as a place where slave owner's took their slaves to drown them when they no longer wanted them.  Also a place where battered slaves would go to commit suicide.  We chose to stop here because of it's majestic water displays as well as it's history.  

Michael, Carol and LDub on Long Bay Beach.

Perhaps we made a bad choice in requesting this stop, but the worst was yet to come.  The road to Devil's Bridge was very rutted with sharp objects sticking up along the road at different places.  After this stop Michael pulled in to Long Bay to show us the beautiful beach at this location.  As we were preparing to get back in his van after this stop I noticed the rear tire was almost flat.  

The flat tire!

Pointed it out to Michael and before he looked at it the tire was totally flat.  "Last time I go to Devil's Bridge!" he said.  He was rather upset so I offered to help him change the tire.  Between he and I we managed to get his spare from under his van and on to the wheel that held the flat.  We next stopped at a garage so he could purchase a new tire since the other tire had a bad slice in it from the poor roads at Devil's Bridge.  

LDub relaxing after a tire change. I'm
drinking a grapefruit soda called Ting.

A stop that we had not requested, but one which gave us a chance to meet some of the locals and talk with them about the island.  A very interesting stop with a chance to drink a cool beverage.  With everyone back in the van, Michael headed to our next location; Betty's Hope which is a historical sugar plantation.  As we approached the sign to the plantation, it read "Sorry, We're Closed".  It is the slow season on the island of Antigua, thus the closure of one of out stops.  Since it was close to noon, Michael decided to stop at the restaurant he had planned to take us for lunch.  Place called "Road House" which had some of the best island food we experienced during out trip to Antigua.  After our meal we headed to our next stop, Nelson's Dock Yard. Follow along tomorrow as I take you with us to one of the most interesting spots on the island of Antigua.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy

The Road House Restaurant

Our table was waiting for us!

Out the rear window we saw these unusual ducks.

Another view of the local restaurant. 

My meal.  Sorry I ate most of it before I snapped the photograph.  It was so good that I
forgot the photo.  Consisted of fish, salad, rice & beans, Mac & cheese and ice cream.
Also had a coke to drink.